marshmallows!
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So after trying out Stall in LC for an extensive period of time, I thought I finally had a good grasp on the metagame. Carvanha, Bulky Fighters, Ferroseed, and Drought (among others that I may be forgetting) made up the majority of the teams I faced, so naturally I wanted to make dealing with them my number 1 priority when building a new team. I eventually chose BU Croagunk to start the team off as it easily deals with some of the top Mons in the metagame like Mienfoo, Timburr, Scraggy, and the previously mentioned Carvanha and Ferroseed. From there, I just added other Mons accordingly, fixing weaknesses throughout the testing process, until I finally got to the finished product. Although I wouldn't say this is a GREAT team, it did get me to 1241 cre (#4 at the time, #2 currently) in Smogon LC and most likely voting rights for the second round of suspect tests under the alt of marshmallow. The entire team is pretty anti-metagame and I've thoroughly enjoyed using it. Regretably though, I think the team's hit it's peak of successfulness now that Drought will probably be banned, opening the door to other threats I'm not prepared for. Anyways, enough stalling, here's the team.
Ferroseed (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Iron Barbs
EVs: 164 HP / 188 Def / 148 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)
- Leech Seed
- Spikes
- Protect
- Bullet Seed
Although numerous teams are prepared for Ferroseed now through random HP Fires and various other means, I still find it to be very effective. Due to that preparation though, Ferro's role as a kind of wall has been diminished to more of a defensive pivot, but this is still fine by me because it's great typing makes it more than worthy of a team spot. Ferro allows me to switch into numerous threats such as Chinchou, Staryu, and Misdreavus and then pivot to an appropriate team member to deal with them from there. On top of that, it also supports the team as a whole in more ways than one. First of all, it lays down Spikes, which helps in wearing down the opponents team a lot quicker. Secondly, Leech Seed lets me keep Ferro as well as the rest of the team healthy for on going battles, which are a lot more common in an Eviolite infested metagame.
For the spread, it's just the standard. As for the rest of the moveset, it's also pretty standard. Protect to scout for moves such as HP Fire and rack up Leech Seed damage / health, and Bullet Seed for STAB and to break subs.
Slowpoke (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Regeneration
EVs: 196 HP / 156 Def / 36 SAtk / 116 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Slack Off
- Toxic
- Psychic
- Scald
The only reason Slowpoke is here is because of Meditite, I'm going to clear that up right now. Yes, it does help with a bunch of other physical threats like Gligar and Bulky Fighters, but honestly I could probably use something like RestTalk Koffing to deal with those if I didn't need a fool proof counter to Tite. Anyways, enough about what could be. Slowpoke + Regeneration is like a match made in heaven for this team. I can pretty much switch into any physical threats that my team has trouble with and not be scared in the slightest of the outcome. This is because with Eviolite and Poke's great natural bulk I'm already going to be taking minimal damage, and if I do happen to switch into an unfriendly move, I can always just switch right back out and regain back 1/3 of my health. Regeneration is also incredibly helpful against Hyper Offensive teams that rely on a continue pounding on once specific wall because I can go from an incredibly limited amount of HP to almost full health just through pivot stalling. In short, Slowpoke just walls the shit out of most physical threats.
For the moveset, I chose Scald for a good Water STAB as well as the chance to burn and Psychic for another reliable STAB and additional help against fighters. The EVs allow for maximum physically defensive potential while giving me an Eviolite number in both Def and SpD.
Houndour (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 116 Atk / 116 SAtk / 42 SDef / 236 Spd
Hasty Nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Pursuit
- Sucker Punch
- Fire Blast
- Dark Pulse
Houndour was the last member added(other than Mantyke, who was added after testing) but it has often proved to be the MVP. With a team filled with bulky Eviolite abusers, it helps to have that one hard hitter, and Houndour fits the bill perfectly. The main reason it was added was because I had nothing to absorb potential WoW's and I also wanted another Misdreavus check; Houndour was the only thing I could think of that could do both. Houndour doesn't have the defensive stats that are almost needed to survive in this metagame, but it's typing and power more than make up for it. I often just bring it in on some of the many Fire moves aimed at Ferro and the rest of the team or once another Mon has fainted and just start firing off moves according to what I gathered from studying team preview. Once I get a Flash Fire boost, and even without one, it's scary how many team aren't prepared to take a LO Fire Blast and 2 of the best at taking them, Frillish and Slowpoke, are easily KOd by a swift Dark Pulse. The biggest point I'd like to make about Houndour though is it's stall breaking ability. Defensive teams prove to be a problem for the rest team, but if I play Houndour right, teams lacking Munchlax are terribly weakened by Dour's constant offensive pressure, allowing the rest of the team to eventually win the stall war.
Yes, I do have 3 different Dark type moves, but tbh I need all of them. Dark Pulse gives me a secondary STAB to fire off alongside Fire Blast, allowing me to rip holes into most teams. Sucker Punch brings some much needed priority to the table. Pursuit lets me trap Misdreavus and other weakened threats so that I don't have to deal with them later in the match. Im considering replacing Pursuit with something like Substitue though as I usually find that shooting off another high powered FB / Dark Pulse is more beneficial than trapping a fleeing threat.
Gligar (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 236 HP / 76 SDef / 156 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Roost
The number 1 Pokemon in LC makes an appearance on my team, but surprisingly, it seems like the weak link. It provides me with some useful resistances as well as another physically defensive presence, which are both greatly appreciated. With that said though, I can't help but feel that with SR being needed on the set, it's abilities are terribly restricted. I guess I should look on the bright side though, because Gligar might be the glue holding the team together without me even realizing it. In fact, it actually has a behind the scenes role by covering the threats the other teammates can't handle. For example, Croagunk is my Scraggy check, but if it has Zen Headbutt > Ice Punch, that role switches over to Gligar. The same can be said for Slowpoke, as it usually walls Meditite but can have trouble Thunder Punch variants. This is where Gligar steps in, being able to wall Meditite who use Tpunch > Ice Punch. That's pretty much it explanation wise, Gligar is a pretty boring Pokemon tbh.
I use enough speed to outpace Meditite, and then threw the rest in Defense and SpD, making sure to get Eviolite numbers in both. I'm not sure if I should just forego the Defensive investment entirely and just focus on Speed, so help is appreciated there. Earthwuake for STAB and SR is kind of obligatory. Roost for healing and Toxic helps to slowly weaken opposing teams.
Mantyke (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 156 HP / 196 Def / 120 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Toxic
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Ok, finally some originality on the team. This spot was originally held by Taunt Vullaby, but I kept getting dicked by sun so I decided to search for something that could full Vullaby's special walling capabilities as well as beat Sun. After much searching, I finally stumbled about Mantyke and realized what an overlooked beast it was. With that massive SpD, Mantyke hits 20 SpD even with a neutral nature and minimal investment, meaning I can still wall special threats like Tboltless Missy and have enough room to make Tyke a sort of mixed wall. The beauty of the set lies in Mantyke's great typing though. As shown by Gyara's dominance throughout the ages, Flying / Water is a great typing to have and it worsk perfectly for Tyke. Because most sun teams rely on Fire / Grass type sweepers, there are almost never Electric type moves being thrown around, leaving a neutral Solarbeam as the strongest thing able to hit Tyke. With that said, I've walled numerous Sun teams just by switching in Tyke and rotating through Rest and Sleep Talk. On top of walling Sun and Special threats, Mantyke's typing also allows it to check Bulky Fighters and Ground's, like Gligar, meaning that it takes a some very specific Pokemon to break through Mantyke. I do wish that I didn't have to rely on RestTalk for recovery, but maybe I should be happy, because with recovery Mantyke might be too good and eventually become ban worthy!
Rest + Sleep Talk is needed on a set like this to continually wall certain threats. Scald is for STAB and the chance to Burn. HP Flying is what lets me deal with Grass types on Drought teams as well as Fighters. The EVs give me great SpD capabilities while still leaving me with physical tanking potential.
Croagunk (M) @ Eviolite
Trait: Dry Skin
EVs: 52 HP / 108 Atk / 116 Def / 116 SDef / 116 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Taunt
- Bulk Up
- Drain Punch
- Sucker Punch
The team was based around this set, but Croagunk is mainly just the glue that keeps the team together. As previously mentioned, it's my main(only) Scraggy check, but it's unique typing coupled with it's ability make it a counter to a variety of other things such as Carvanha, Timburr, and Mienfoo. With Eviolite, Croagunk is actually rather bulky, and when BU + Drain Punch is added to the mix, it can be terribly tough to kill. I've played so many teams that are so weak to this, it's not even funny. I just set up on the ever so common threats that I mentioned before and pick apart the opposing team with great coverage between 2 moves, of which of happens to be priority. Other than that, there's not much else to say. Croagunk is about as anti-metagame as you can get, and I'm glad I got the chance to use it to it's fullest.
As for the set and EVs, they're both pretty weird looking. Usually, Bulky Crogunk runs substitute, but I didn't like how I was purposefully losing HP, which I was trying to conserve as much as possible. On top of that, it still didn't help against threats such as Sub NP Missy and Frillish. I looked for other options over Subsitute and eventually tried Taunt, and it worked great. With Taunt, I can actually set up on Frillish not fearing the WoW and beat Sub Missy. It also makes setting up on other Bulk Uppers like Timburr that much easier. Drain Punch + Sucker Punch provide great coverage, a means of healing, and priority; What else could you ask for?
Whelp, that's it. I hope you enjoyed reading through the RMT. Do whatever you like with the team, but I'd really like all the rates I can get, as all advice is appreciated. I would tell you guys that you can steal this team, but that would imply that I think the team is great enough to be stolen.
Change Log
• Toxic and Water Absorb > Scald and Swift Swim on Mantyke
